In the news

Food safety magazine reported that the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) appointed a new subcommittee that will focus on how land adjacent to leafy greens farms is contributing to foodborne illness outbreaks associated with romaine lettuce. The group will work closely with university and government researchers to meticulously examine past and current studies. The subcommittee also plans to engage with landowners of properties located near leafy greens farms, including cattle and other crops like wine grapes. The Adjacent Lands Subcommittee will be making recommendations as part of an open, collaborative process now underway for improving the safety of leafy greens. This process is being facilitated by Western Growers and is currently considering new standards for water used to grow leafy greens and for soil amendments and other crop inputs. @ 

https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/news/lgma-forms-adjacent-lands-subcommittee-to-address-romaine-lettuce-contamination/

The company produces ready-to-eat (RTE) sandwiches, salads, and bakery items.  visiting the facility in January of 2020 the FDA investigators found serious violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food regulation. After receiving a reply letter from the FDA on February 19, the FDA issued a warning letter relating to sanitation control procedures and GMP violations. The company’s sanitation control procedures did not ensure the cleanliness of food-contact surfaces and prevention of cross-contamination. They did not implement written sanitation control verification procedures for environmental monitoring and did not do environmental monitoring as they had written in their plan. FDA found cockroaches, flying insects in the facility. Quality Dairy cleaning procedures were found to be inadequate and sanitation controls were not reviewed within 7 days.  @ https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/quality-dairy-company-604285-05132020

A team of Princeton researchers reported in the journal Cell that they have found a compound (SCH-79797), that kills both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The killing mechanism is through a unique dual-targeting mechanism of action (MoA) with undetectably low resistance frequencies. They demonstrated that SCH-79797 has two independent cellular targets, folate metabolism, and bacterial membrane integrity, and outperforms combination treatments in killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) persisters. Building on the molecular core of SCH-79797, they developed a derivative, Irresistin-16, with increased potency and showed its efficacy against Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a mouse vaginal infection model. The Princeton team found that even with extraordinary effort, they were unable to generate any resistance to this compound. This promising antibiotic suggests that combining multiple MoAs onto a single chemical may be an underappreciated approach to targeting antibiotic-resistant bacteria. @ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.05.005

Meatpacking plants and other food manufacturing facilities are closing due to coronavirus. Most reopen after a while as the facility goes through deep cleaning, reconfigures the spacing in their facility, and allowing employees finish to quarantine. Since the demand for food is high, it put pressure on manufacturers to open ASAP. Food Dive is tracking the status of operations of major manufacturers’ plants as they navigate the pandemic.  In addition to meatpacking facilities, the list also includes other food manufacturers such as Firestone Pacific Foods fruit processing facility in Vancouver, Washington, shuttered on May 19, and is scheduled to reopen now. Bristol Seafood shuttered its processing plant on the Portland Fish Pier in Maine for two days after five workers tested positive for coronavirus. Bristol sells a line of ready-to-cook scallops, haddock, cod, and salmon. A Frito-Lay factory owned by PepsiCo in Modesto, California, briefly closed its doors for a deep cleaning after some workers showed coronavirus symptoms. Conagra Brands closed its Darien, Wisconsin Birds Eye Foods plant on April 19 after about 20 employees tested positive for coronavirus. The full list can be found @ https://www.fooddive.com/news/tracking-coronavirus-closures-at-food-and-beverage-factories/576559/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202020-06-01%20Food%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:27650%5D&utm_term=Food%20Dive